Marc Jacobs Ad Banned for ‘Child Sexualization’

A Marc Jacobs perfume advert featuring the 17-year-old actress Dakota Fanning has been banned after complaints that the image "sexualized a child."

Britain’s advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority, ruled that the magazine advert for Jacobs’ Oh, Lola! was irresponsible. It featured Fanning leaning back in a short pink dress with an oversized bottle of the perfume between her legs.

The print ad (posted below) appeared in a number of national titles, including ES Magazine and The Sunday Times Style Magazine.

Coty, the makers of Oh, Lola!, argued that the advert “did not show any private body parts or sexual activity." The giant perfume bottle was “provoking but not indecent," the cosmetics giant claimed. Coty added that the ad was placed in publications aimed at the over-25s.

But the ASA concluded that though the model was 17, “we considered she looked under the age of 16." It added that she was posed in a “sexually provocative” manner. “The length of her dress, her leg, and position of the perfume bottle drew attention to her sexuality,” the regulator said. “We therefore concluded that the ad was irresponsible and was likely to cause serious offense. The ad must not appear again in its current form.”

The Telegraph notes that designer Marc Jacobs recently described his new Oh, Lola! fragrance as "sensual." The little sister perfume to the hugely successful Lola scent is "more of a Lolita than a Lola," Jacobs said.

A Marc Jacobs perfume advert featuring the 17-year-old actress Dakota Fanning has been banned after complaints that the image "sexualized a child."

Britain’s advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority, ruled that the magazine advert for Jacobs’ Oh, Lola! was irresponsible. It featured Fanning leaning back in a short pink dress with an oversized bottle of the perfume between her legs.

The print ad (posted below) appeared in a number of national titles, including ES Magazine and The Sunday Times Style Magazine.

Coty, the makers of Oh, Lola!, argued that the advert “did not show any private body parts or sexual activity." The giant perfume bottle was “provoking but not indecent," the cosmetics giant claimed. Coty added that the ad was placed in publications aimed at the over-25s.

But the ASA concluded that though the model was 17, “we considered she looked under the age of 16." It added that she was posed in a “sexually provocative” manner. “The length of her dress, her leg, and position of the perfume bottle drew attention to her sexuality,” the regulator said. “We therefore concluded that the ad was irresponsible and was likely to cause serious offense. The ad must not appear again in its current form.”

The Telegraph notes that designer Marc Jacobs recently described his new Oh, Lola! fragrance as "sensual." The little sister perfume to the hugely successful Lola scent is "more of a Lolita than a Lola," Jacobs said.